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Building and development documents at Johannesburg's Metro Centre have been gathering dust in abandoned offices for more than two years.
Documents strewn across an office floor at the Johannesburg Metro Centre. Picture: X / @jozi117
The Johannesburg municipality will begin a project to haul “millions” of physical documents to a location.
Following the municipal head office’s closure in 2023, the municipal records, building plans and town planning documents were left to rot in empty offices.
A plan to redevelop the building is in the pipeline, and the city announced its plans on Thursday to archive the floors of information.
Johannesburg’s history decaying
The Metro Centre was shut in 2023 after a technical report revealed structural defects in the multistorey building.
City officials admitted that the documents left behind are vital to the city’s administrative history and planning future.
“Millions of physical records crucial for property development, compliance, and legal processes were temporarily locked within the premises,” a city statement read on Thursday.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) recently launched a petition to have the documents saved, urging officials to protect, relocate and digitise the documents.
“Safeguarding these records is not just about preserving paperwork—it’s about maintaining transparency, efficiency and accountability in city governance,” stated the DA.
Plans to save records
The city confirmed that it was working with Treasury to redevelop the Metro Centre and that those plans should be finalised by the end of June.
While the rebuild takes place, the Department of Development Planning will open temporary offices in Newton from Wednesday, 25 June.
The department’s immediate plans for the documents involve giving staff limited access to the Metro Centre to begin collecting and transporting the documentation to a new location.
“Staff members are now allocated two hours each weekday to retrieve files, thereby assisting residents seeking access to building plans and town planning documents,” stated the city.
To protect the building and the documents, 35 armed security guards will patrol the area on 12-hour rotating shifts at all hours of the day and night.
Digitisation of records
Through the Group Information and Communication Technology department, the city’s development planning department is finalising a service provider to digitise the documents.
“The procurement process for the service provider is currently underway and is expected to be finalised by the end of July 2025,” stated the city.
The service provider will scan and digitise all building plans and town planning records, develop a portal for public access and safely archive the physical records.
“The city appreciates the patience exhibited by the residents during this challenging time and is committed to restoring full functionality and accessibility to crucial services as swiftly as possible,” the statement concluded.
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